Policy GESP18: Built to Rent Homes

To help meet the need for high quality homes for private rent in the Greater Exeter area, each phase of development of the following GESP site allocations will include a percentage (to be determined after this consultation and identified in the next version of the GESP) of Build to Rent Rent homes: 

[Sites to be determined after this consultation and identified here in the next version of the GESP]

Each Build to Rent scheme provided in the GESP site allocations listed above will include (and maintain in perpetuity) an amount of affordable housing that accords with targets provided in the relevant GESP site allocation policy.

Outside the GESP site allocations listed above, every Build to Rent development of 10 or more homes will provide (and maintain in perpetuity) an amount of affordable housing that accords with policies and allocations in the relevant local and/or neighbourhood development plan.

Affordable homes provided on all Build to Rent schemes must be:

1. For Affordable Private Rent, secured in perpetuity
2. Let with rents set at Local Housing Allowance level
3. Owned and managed by the same landlord as the market Build to Rent homes
4. Fully integrated into the development and built to the same standards as the market Build to Rent homes
5. Let to eligible households registered with Devon Home Choice

7.22 Increasing numbers of young people in the UK face the prospect of never owning their own Rising house prices, restricted access to mortgages and a decreasing supply of affordable housing mean that, at the age of 30, four in ten young people will rely on the private rented sector to meet their housing needs. This is double the rate of previous generations.

7.23 Within the Greater Exeter area the private sector’s role in providing housing has increased substantially in recent Between 2001 and 2011 the number of privately renting households grew by 13,000 or 69%.

7.24 The Greater Exeter councils expect that growth in this sector will continue – the Local Housing Needs Assessment (2nd Edition) concludes that between 17% and 32% of additional homes delivered in the Greater Exeter area by 2040 should be for private This equates to between around 9,180 and 17,280 of the overall housing target, or between 460 and 860 homes per year.

7.25 The Greater Exeter councils recognise the important role that Build to Rent can play in helping to meet the need for high quality, well-managed and secure private rented housing. The Greater Exeter councils also agree with the Letwin Review (2018), which recognises that, in addition to helping meet needs, the delivery of Build to Rent homes can help to diversify the housing market and thereby support timely build out. Consequently, the Review recommends that large housing sites above 1,500 homes include Build to Rent homes as part of the tenure diversity of each phase of the site’s

7.26 Given the projected level of need for private rented homes in the Greater Exeter area and reflecting the Letwin Review’s recommendations, draft policy GESP18 requires the provision of a percentage of Build to Rent homes within every development phase of the largest sites allocated in the GESP. The percentage and sites will be determined following this consultation and identified in the next version of the GESP. Other Build to Rent homes may come forward as a matter of course on other GESP allocations, particularly those within the urban area of Exeter.

7.27 The Greater Exeter councils may further support Build to Rent by:

• Allocating sites in local plans for Built to Rent; and Supporting institutional investment on public land, including exploring the use of joint
• The Greater Exeter councils acknowledge the distinct economies associated with the Build to Rent In recognition of this, draft policy GESP18 allows affordable housing provision on Build to Rent schemes to be solely in the form of Affordable Private Rent as defined in the Practice Guidance. In order to be considered as a Build to Rent scheme and therefore qualify for this approach to affordable housing provision, proposals must meet the following definition:
• All of the homes in the scheme must be owned and managed by a single landlord, secured by means of a Individual homes must not be sold and overall ownership of the scheme can only change if the scheme stays as Build to Rent. If any homes are sold out of the Build to Rent sector, an affordable housing ‘clawback’ mechanism will be applied. This will be set on a case-by-case basis and will state how the clawback will operate and be calculated
• The homes for Affordable Private Rent homes be secured as affordable housing in perpetuity
• All of the homes must be self-contained and let separately
• There must be on-site management to allow for prompt resolution of The property manager must be part of an accredited Ombudsman Scheme and a member of a recognised professional body
• Long term tenancies must be offered to all tenants (ideally of three years of more) with defined tenancy-rent reviews
• Rent and service charge certainty must be offered for the period of the tenancy, the basis of which should be made clear to the tenant before the tenancy agreement is signed
• The Build to Rent landlord must produce an annual statement to the relevant local authority confirming the ongoing status of the Affordable Private Rent units and clearly identifying how the scheme is meeting the overall affordable housing level required in the planning permission.

7.29 These requirements will be secured by means of a Section 106 Agreement. Build to Rent schemes that do not meet all of draft Policy GESP18’s criteria, and that do not do not comply with the additional requirements for Build to Rent schemes set out in the Practice Guidance, will treated as build for sale schemes for the purposes of calculating the affordable housing requirement.

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